


Autumn Reacquaintence

by INTPSlytherin_reylove97



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Babysitter Steve Harrington, F/M, Gen, Police Officer Steve Harrington, Steve Harrington-Centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-09-18
Packaged: 2019-03-16 02:59:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13627176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/INTPSlytherin_reylove97/pseuds/INTPSlytherin_reylove97
Summary: "Steve blamed it on her book —it was a romantic sort of novel even though it is considered a classic."Eleven decides to play matchmaker for Steve.





	1. Jane 'El' Hopper, Hawkins Matchmaker

**Author's Note:**

> I know not everyone enjoys OCs, but I thought Steve deserved some love :)

“You’re a sad person.” El remarked bluntly to her babysitter, Steve. “You’re always by yourself.”

“No I’m not.” Steve shot back, barely looking up from his paper work. When he went through all the training to be a Deputy for Hawkins Police Department, he did not think he would be doing this much paper work, namely of misdemeanors. If he had to write another report on Mrs. Livingstons missing garden gnomes, he might tear his precious hair out.

El evaluating his life also wasn’t helping.

Ever since she started school in the fall, Steve was put on afternoon babysitting duty with El. The girl mostly read to herself in the perp char beside his desk in the office, while Steve filed the stack of paper work from that days reports. Hopper didn’t trust El to be off on her own at the cabin during the afternoon since her little runaway incident. The Chief thought it would be beneficial if she spent her afternoons in the office with Steve, expanding her circle to more than just the party. Steve knew more about social interactions than the boys, and El needed a _little_ more influence in that area.

“Yes. You are.” She stated from behind her copy of _Emma_ ; once she was able to read _Anne of Green Gables_ on her own, Hopper began to integrate other books into her library. Her favorite of the moment was Jane Austen’s _Emma_.

“Not everyone needs to be in a relationship.” Steve reminded the fourteen year old, signing off on another report of Mrs. Livingston’s missing garden gnomes. Hawkins’s had been surprisingly calm, though that didn’t mean Steve was not prepared (that damned bat was in the truck of his car despite having the papers for a concealed weapon). Calmness caused him to be on edge.

“But everyone has someone.” El insisted, confusion clouding her curious eyes. “I have Mike.” Steve schooled his expression, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the mention of El’s beloved _Mike_. Their story is for the ages, but not common. God, he hoped it wasn’t common to fall in love with an escaped victim of unethical science experiments. But even beyond that, nobody finds their… person when they’re _twelve_! “Lucas and Max,” She continued to rattle off the names of her little friends, Dustin and his new girlfriend mentioned in the lineup. He tried not to notice how she skipped over the newlyweds, Jonathan and Nancy, jumping right to Hopper and Joyce. Not that Steve was hurt from that turn of events—Nancy and Jonathan decided to elope one day, right after they found out they got into the same university (Nancy’s mom had a conniption at the news, and well, Joyce and Hopper couldn’t find it in themselves to be upset; with the horrors the teens faced, Nancy and Jonathan had begun to live their life like they were told they only had a week to live). By the time they became the Mr.  & Mrs. Byers, the two had been dating for well over a year and Steve was well invested in finishing his training for the Hawkins Police Department.

“Maybe I’m happy being by myself.”

“No. I see you, when you think no one is looking. You get sad by yourself.” Her words struck a nerve, Steve momentarily forgetting how perceptive El could be, until she had her moments of pure wisdom.

“Hey El,” Nicole Watson greeted as she reentered the room, a cup of coffee in her hand, her presence breaking the tension between El and pseudo older brother.

“Hi,” El spoke shyly, Steve glancing up from his work to smile at the interaction.

El had a tendency to become fascinated by the newest edition to the office. Initially when it was announced Flo was switching to part time and a new secretary will be working her off hours, El went complete teen telekinetic tantrum on Hopper. Flo had been one of the first to get to know out-of-the-cabin El, letting the girl sit by her desk throughout the summer and teaching her about the inner workings of the office… and maybe share one or two embarrassing stories about Hopper in his early years on the force. Flo was El’s friend and mentor of some sort; Steve knew that too well, the ladies ganging up on him when he didn’t finish his paper work. When Nicole began El was determined to _dislike_ her (Hopper was trying to get the word ‘hate’ out of her vocabulary, the word too often thrown around for his comfort), but it proved to be difficult.

Nicole ended up being far nicer and cooler than El, or Steve, anticipated (both might have been guilty in assuming Flo’s replacement would be a stuffy librarian type, though never mentioned it). She apparently traveled a bit before coming back to Hawkins, living in random places across the country with odd jobs and stories to go along with them. She knew how to play the flute and had a hidden tattoo on her wrist (She promised El when she turned eighteen she’d take her to get one of her own to cover up the ‘marks’ on her wrist).

Steve had been floored when he realized he and Nicole practically grew up together.

 

“You went to Hawkins? _No way._ I knew everyone.” Steve stressed one morning as he made himself a cup of coffee (when the hell did he become a coffee drinker—it still tasted like dirt).

Nicole’s amused smile lessened. “Yes, I did. Graduated same year, and everything.” Steve squinted in thought, unable to place Nicole’s dark eyes and harsh smirk in his memory. “Come on! I sat in front of you for the entirety of tenth grade biology!”

A hazy image of a short, slightly chubby around the sides, girl with over-sized black sweaters and dark, wild curls came to mind. _Nicole Watson Flores_. She sat near him in the beginning of every year because of alphabetical order! He remembered she usually kept to herself. When she wasn’t looking, he would try to copy her answers for whatever quiz they were taking that he didn’t prepare for.

Nicole looked unlike her high school days… not just appearance wise (She lost some weight and cut her long curly raven hair to nearly her scalp, a new pair of glasses—that were not so obnoxiously large on her angular face). The nineteen year old carried herself confidently, rather than be hunched over a worn paperback novel.

“I, uh, never noticed you.” Steve quietly admitted. Her dark eyes narrowed briefly, as though she were offended, but let the remark go.

Nicole shrugged, dropping a sugar cube into her coffee. “Well you must not have been looking.”

He didn’t. Nicole was a loner in high school; the most notice she received was a brief rumor she was part of a cult due to the amount of black she wore. It only lasted _maybe_ a day and half before some other tale churned through the rumor mill. Other than that incident, she flew under the radar.

 

“I didn’t know you’d be here today. I thought you were going out with Max.” Steve absentmindedly paid attention to their conversation, sneaking glances at the two every so often. Oddly enough, El was more comfortable talking to the males in her life, rather than the women, Nicole a perfect example of El’s social awkwardness.

“Nope not until tomorrow.” El answered, her fingers playing with the fraying spine of her book.

Nicole nodded in understanding, already sitting back in her desk across from Steve’s. “You need to make sure to tell me how the movie is; I have been dying to see Breakfast Club.”

El sat back in her chair as Nicole resumed her work, and Steve turned back to his reports. Silence fell over the office, the occasional phone call sounding off, Nicole or Steve informing whoever was on duty to check out for a speeding ticket or Earl Manchester’s public indecency (read: nudity).

“Nicole, do you have a boyfriend?” El’s question caused Steve to almost knock over his pencil holder. He already sensed where the telekinetic girl was going with her question. Steve blamed it on her book _Emma_ —it was a romantic sort of novel even though it is consider a classic (it was one of the few books he actually read for English. Thank God for Nancy).

Nicole, on the other hand did not seem the slightest effected by El’s question.

“Nope.” Nicole shook her head, a curl escaping from behind her ear.

El frowned. Steve could tell that was not the answer she was looking for from Nicole. “Well—did you have a boyfriend, or… are you looking for one?”

Nicole snorted, brown eyes widening at the next half of the interrogation. Steve had a feeling he knew the answer before Nicole opened her mouth—she was the nerd-outcast-punkish girl whose face looked perpetually upset about _something_ (after working together for nearly six months, he realized that is just her thinking face) in high school. Hardly anyone approached her.

“El-Jane, that’s not really a question you can ask people?” Steve intervened; it was his job to help the girl with social cues, this defiantly _not_ appropriate. Plus, he didn’t want one of the only women El interacted with to become resistant towards her.

“Steve, its fine. She’s curious girl who needs to learn about how other people view or experience dating.” Nicole assured the deputy, her tanned neck tinting a rosy color. Squaring her shoulders, Nicole turned to the fourteen year old with a calm yet prepared face. “El, I have _never_ had a boyfriend.”

The girl could not restrain her gasp.

Steve attempted hide his laughter behind a cough at El’s reaction, to spare he feelings, but she was too engrossed with Nicole to pay attention.

“But-But, you’re nice, and _pretty_ , and bitchin” Nicole smiled lightly at the compliments, yet her eyes remained on El, “and you’re a _friend_. Why?”

Steve sensed uneasiness from Nicole, but the young woman slowly answered the girl, despite the personal question. “Well, I was not always the nicest person or the prettiest—I use to have crazy curly hair and never wore color,”

“So you’ve always been bitchin?” El interrupted, Nicole nodding her head in agreement.

“Uh, yeah. But when I was in high school, the time when people usually start dating, I was not considered what people consider a traditional pretty or even all that cool. Nor did I want to be. I spent my lunches reading books in the library rather than getting to know people, or letting them get to know me.” Steve did recall bumping into Nicole a couple of times during their senior year, when he frequented the library with Nancy. She, for the lack of better words looked haggard. Tired. “I kind of regret not getting to know people, I was, probably still am a little pretentious. Plus I was angry at a lot of people; my mom, my dad, my classmates….I didn’t want anybody else to deal with my problems.” Nicole admitted with a shrug before getting back on topic. “Anyway, I am telling you this because during that time, I wasn’t my best self—and sometimes it’s good to _not_ be in romantic relationships when we’re still figuring out who we are.”

Steve felt some of the air suck out of his lungs. Nicole was right—in a way, frighteningly so, to the point he felt like running away from the room. When he was with Nancy, neither of them were the best versions of themselves, and it was a reason, among, others they broke up…. But Nicole was also extremely, and naïvely _wrong_.

“I don’t think your right.” Steve spoke before his logical side of his brain could stop him. Nicole and El’s heads whipped up to him, remembering he was indeed in the room. “Sure, not being in a relationship while you’re trying to figure yourself out, I kind of get it… but sometimes while dating someone you really like, you slowly become a better person for them. Without even realizing it.” Steve added he last bit as an after-thought.

Nicole blinked, while El slowly glanced between the two young adults. “Well, I never thought of it that way.”

Steve, now that he had an idea of what Nicole really thought about herself in high school (their school days were distinctly a topic they did not discuss at work, despite being in the same classes for most of their upbringing), he needed to set the record straight for her. “Also, you were pretty, and people _did_ want to get to know you, but you made it clear you only wanted to do your time and get the hell out of Hawkins.”

The irony of that statement. The loner kids were often the ones who vocalized in class where they wanted to go—NYU, University of Chicago, Harvard, even some obscure places. They made thing clear: _I am better than this place, and I can’t wait to leave_. Not that there was anything wrong with leaving Hawkins, a lot of his class did, he one of the few who stayed.

He thought Nicole was going to California, repeatedly declaring Stanford ever time the class had to go around the room and say where they wanted to be after high school.

Here they were almost a year and half later, early October, and Nicole for some reason came back. Not stepping foot on Stanford’s campus (she did admit, once when it was just her and Steve in one of the later afternoon shifts, that she opted out of college—too expensive), and working at the police station with the former popular guy who copied her quiz answers in biology.

Nicole shifted uncomfortably at his compliment yet _not_ -compliment. He basically called her a pretentious bitch, even though she had already said she knew she was one.

Could he ever stop being an ass?

“I—thank you I guess?” Nicole mumbled, eyes trying to focus on something—like El’s head band. “Well hopefully, that answers that.” She smiled tightly before turning back to face her desk.

“So do you know yourself now?” El’s determined voice sounded in the room, the conversation apparently not over.

“El,” Steve warned, but the girl ignored him as she barreled through with more questions.

“Because if you know yourself now, and are a better version of yourself, you _can_ date. You can have a boyfriend.”

Steve had to hand it to the kid; she totally shattered Nicole’s argument. The young woman did not have an excuse besides the one he told El earlier, ‘because I might like being single’.

Nicole pursed her lips, turning back to El. “I like being by myself.”

“Steve said the same thing.”

“What? That I like being by myself?” Nicole shot Steve a scathing glare.

“No.” El sighed, flopping back on the prep chair. “He likes being by himself too.” El’s eyes lit up like the sun suddenly, “What if you can be by yourselves together?”

“God, no!”

“Eww!”

Steve was stunned by the disgusted yelp that came from Nicole. Girls loved him, girls wanted to date him! Girls fought to get his attention!

Girls… well Nicole wasn’t really a girl anymore. She was a woman and Steve can admit his dating game was not as awesome in his adulthood. It was difficult to score dates with anyone, due to his work schedule (Why did he have so many afternoon-night shifts? _‘We need someone to man the phones if we get an emergency,’_ Hopper explained, _‘It’s not like you sleep much Harrington’_.), plus he spent his weekends with those shitheads ( _‘Come on, we need a ride to the arcade’_ , _‘We want to go to the bowling alley in the next town.’_ Or ‘ _Billy’s being an asshat, can I crash here?_ ’—which turned into Party sleepovers at his apartment _._ ) And how can he explain that Wednesday and Sundays were family night dinners at the Byers-Hopper household? A family that wasn’t really his flesh and blood, but decided he was just as good, especially when they found out how little Steve grew up around his parents.

He liked being by himself because it was easier than trying to explain well, everything.

“I would never-” Nicole began before catching Steve’s brief flash of disappointment. “I mean. It’s just why Steve and I would ever date, El? We are two very different people.” Nicole amended.

“And?” El probed.

Nicole did not answer, as at that moment Chief Hopper came in from the outside. “Let’s go kid, Harrington!” Hopper caught sight of Nicole as El and Steve pulled on their coats, “Just saw Callahan pull up, so you’re free to go Watson.” Nicole smiled lightly, clearing away the files on her desk.

El began to bond out the door, before halting her steps. Stepping a few paces back, Converse squeaking at the movement, she paused in front of Hopper. Her father watched her warily. “Pop, can Nicole come over for dinner?”

Steve knew that book was the worst thing Hopper ever gave his daughter.

The burly, bearded Chief gazed down at his daughter, her small smile too mischievous for anyone’s liking. Nicole on the other hand was floundering at the surprise announcement.

“Oh, Chief. I’m busy so--”

“Why not?” Hopper declared; Steve suppressed an eye roll. El had Hopper wrapped around her finger, the Chief of Police unable to say no to his daughter’s slightly terrifying yet innocent brown eyes.

“What?” Steve felt eyes turn to him at his protest. “It’s family dinner.”

“Then why do _you_ go?” Nicole rebutted, her hesitation at El’s impromptu offer gone in an instant. “Last time I checked, you’re not a Hopper or a Byers.”

“Steve’s like a brother.” El defended lightly; she never directed hostility towards Nicole. “And you’re my friend, so you can come.” With that El turned on her heel and walked out the door to Hopper’s Blazer.

Hopper shared a dubious glance between the two before following El out with a sigh. “See you in a few. Be a gentleman, give her a ride.”


	2. Dinner with the Byers-Hoppers

_May 1983_

Steve crossed the parking lot into the school, already a half hour late. He’d been expecting a phone call from one of his parents this morning.

Except they forgot.

Again.

He tried not to let the fact bother him as he entered the empty hall of Hawkins High, bee-lining to Biology classroom. The tenth grade biology teacher, Mr. Sanders, sent him a harsh glare when he entered the room, Steve forcing a casual smile and a shrug. He hi-fived a few guys he knew from basketball on his way to his seat in the middle of the room.

Steve sat down the lecture resuming, Mr. Sander’s voice more clipped as he continued. To his right, Steve barely spared a glance at his bio partner, Nicole. She was doodling in her notebook, occasionally taking notes. As though sensing his brief gaze on her, Nicole lifted her gaze from her paper and pen, and made stern eye contact with Steve. Deciding it best to follow her lead, he pulled out the one notebook he brought with him to school and began copying the notes. Every once and while, he’d look to Nicole’s desk writing down information he might have missed.

Soon enough the bell rang, students scrambling to get out of their morning class to the halls. In his haste, Steve did not notice the card slipped into his notebook.

Not until that afternoon, after a day full of tight smiles and fake laughter, did Steve find the card. The envelope fell out of his backpack from where he dropped it on the living room floor. He did not find it until after he attempted to call his mother for the third time (he gave up on his father on the first try), and made a call to the pizza parlor.

He found it as he plopped himself down on the sofa in the living room to wait for his pizza delivery.

Picking it up, he recognized the neat loops of Nicole’s handwriting. He opened the envelope and card, ripping the seal.

_Happy Birthday Steve, hope you have a great day. Or at least pass biology._

_Sincerely,_

_Nicole_

Steve tried not to think how his biology partner was the only person who remembered his birthday. Instead, he tucked the card between some picture frames, and went on the hunt for a Twinkie to stick a birthday candle in.

* * *

_1986_

“You know, you don’t have to give me a ride.” Nicole commented once they were outside, Hopper out of an earshot.

“Eh, they live out in the middle of nowhere. Might as well.” Steve tried to shrug off her gratitude, opening the door for Nicole. She nodded once, sliding into the passenger seat as Steve went to the driver’s side.

Steve hoped the drive would be in silence, things already slightly awkward with Nicole from El’s inquisition.

Yet Nicole defied his silent wishes.

“Do you go to their house for family dinners often?” She asked, Steve nodded, his hand reaching to fiddle with the radio before landing on a soft rock station.

“Yep,” He hesitated, “I became close to the family after the whole Will situation.”

Nicole’s face became somber at the mention of Will’s disappearance. The entire town had become unsettled at both his and Barbara’s disappearances, Nicole no exception.

“That’s nice,” For once she actually sounded genuine, not struggling to find the words to speak to him. “I mean it doesn’t really make sense, since you have no connect to the Byers before that but, sure.”

Steve frowned. “Well it’s complicated.” And it was; how does one explain the bizarreness of demogorgans and the Upside Down? 

“You can say your friends with little high schoolers. It’s not like you have a reputation to uphold.” Nicole reminded him with a slight taunt, yet their was a twinge of fondness in her tone.

“I _babysit_ them, I don’t _hang out_ with them.” Steve corrected.

“Because fourteen and fifteen year olds _need_ a babysitter.” She nodded enthusiastically, her curls slipping from behind her ear, mocking his logic.

Steve felt his face warming at her pinpoint jests. “Yeah, well those one’s do!” He resisted the images of those shitheads trying to drop into the upside down by themselves, driving a car recklessly. Or worse those demo-dogs flinging themselves at those dweebs. He breathed deeply, reminding himself Nicole did not know. She did not know he needed to protect those kids with every fiber of his being, or else they would get into some fucked up shit without him and get themselves killed.

Nicole noticed his grip on the wheel, “Well that admirable.” Steve nearly snapped his neck at her snaky toned compliment. She blinked, evidently surprised by his intense eyes drifting to her every so often. He was still driving of course. “That- that you care. Sure its very mother-henny, but a nice quality.”

Steve’s Adam’s apple bobbed; it had been a while since he was given a compliment for something other than his job or his car (those little shitheads).

The former Byers, now Byers-Hopper household, came into view. Steve silently parked the car, catching glimpses of the Party running around inside. As the two exited and the car and climbed up the steps to the front door a loud crash was heard inside followed by several voices crying out, “DUSTIN!”

Steve rolled his eyes, while Nicole looked at the door warily. Before he could raise his hand to knock, the door was flung open.

“Dude, finally! I thought I heard your car!” Dustin greeted, Steve and Nicole entering the warm house, shutting the door behind them.

“What did you do now?” Dustin smiled from embarrassment at Steve’s question.

“Ehh…” Steve’s eyes followed Dustin’s gaze to the living room where Max, Lucas and Will were sitting with a flipped over board game and fake paper money strewn all over the rug.

“He fucked up our game of monopoly!” Max exclaimed.

“Mayfield language!” Hopper’s voice called out from the kitchen, the redhead scoffing at the chief’s reprimanding but apologized all the same.

“Well it’s not like we were going to finish!” Dustin argued, leaning down to pick up some of the paper money.

“He does have a point,” Lucas spoke slowly, his girlfriend turning to him with a harden gaze.

“Fine, then I’m not sitting with you at dinner.” Max then stood up and left the boys with the mess, the group able to hear her ask Joyce if she needed any help setting up the table.

Dustin and Lucas began to bicker over the monopoly game ( _“You only knocked it over because she was winning!”, “No because we’re going to have dinner soon!”),_ though Will’s gaze landed on the new guest watching the exchange by the front entrance. “Hi!”

Nicole perked up from her wallflower stance by the door, Steve feeling like he caught a glimpse of high school Nicole in that moment. There are something’s that never change.

“Oh, hi!” Nicole smiled hesitantly, slowly stepping further into the room. “Um, I’m Nicole, I work with Steve and the Chief. Flo’s soon to be full time replacement.”

Will smiled brightly at Nicole before standing up to shake her hand; at least one of the dweebs had manners. Steve knew there was a reason Will was one of his favorites. “Yeah, Hop and El mentioned you. They’re in the kitchen if you want to say ‘hi’.” Nicole was then led to the kitchen by Will, leaving Steve with a bug eyed Dustin and Lucas.

“What?”

“Dude.” Dustin stated with a smug grin.

“ _Dude_.” Lucas repeated, leaning forward to Steve.

Catching their drift, Steve shook his head at their ridiculous hormones and suppressed experience with girls. “No.” Steve defied, his hands resting his hips, looking down (while he still has the opportunity to do so) at the two.

“She’s _hot_.” Dustin said lowly.

“In a geeky way, sure.” Steve shrugged, not indulging in their ogling. Nicole was, now, objectively decent looking… well she was always pretty, but… he really did not want to have this conversation with two idiots.

“Then why aren’t you dating her?” Lucas spoke slowly, as if Steve was a toddler. The young man clenched his jaw—why the hell were these little rugrats trying to set him up with Nicole?

“Because I don’t want to.” Steve told them without room for argument as they glared at him exasperatedly. “Now clean up this mess before dinner.”

Steve left the living room into the kitchen, which was filed with more people than capacity. Joyce was standing against the wall, her ear pressed against the phone, reassuring Karen Wheeler that yes ‘Mike will be home before eight’, while she was also trying tell Max where the extra napkins were. Hopper and El stood side by side finishing up the sides, shooing away Jonathan, who had been the resident cook at the Byers before getting hitched. Nancy on the other hand was setting some cookies from the oven off the side, muttering about having enough desert for everyone. The couple tried to make it to one family dinner every couple of weeks, living only an hour away from the rest of the craziness—tonight was apparently their visit. Mike and Max were designated to set up the table, squabbling with one another over placement—apparently Max wanted to sit next to El, but _everyone_ knew Mike sat next to El on family dinner nights. Lost in the mix was Will pulling Nicole around to meet everyone while quietly explaining who’s who.

“Steve, honey, can you help take the food to the table!” Joyce ordered him as she finally hung up the phone. She quickly pulled him into a motherly hug, before ushering him to Hopper and El. After a few hectic moments, different people popping in and out of the kitchen for various items, bodies shuffled around to sit at the dining table.

Steve moved to sit in his usual spot beside Max (well apparently Mike tonight, as Max won that argument) and Dustin, when El harshly tugged him around to sit in the open spot beside Nicole, pushing herself into the other space beside the young woman. El smiled brightly at both Steve and Nicole.

This was going to be a long dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!  
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! :)


	3. Nancy is Suspicious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back :)
> 
> Enjoy!

_1984_

The library was bizarrely empty for a Monday afternoon. Not that Steve made a habit of hanging out in the library after he and Nancy broke up, but finals were next week and he needed all the study time he could get. He needed to get out of high school, and if that meant studying for hours on end with Mrs. Gurski giving him the stink eye for occasionally being ‘too loud’ then so be it.

Blinking, Steve tried to focus on the government textbook in front of him, the branches of legislature blending together the longer he read.

“Shit,” a voice mumbled from the stacks behind him. Twisting in his chair, Steve caught sight of a mass of curly hair from the little windows of the shelves made from the books. From the other side he heard sounds of struggle. Concerned, Steve stood up from his seat to figure out what the hell was happening. When he rounded the corner, he found… _what’s her name_ … Nicole! She was jumping up and down, trying to catch the edge of a book from the top shelf… and clearly not succeeding if her huffing and puffing were anything to go by.

“Uh, do you need help?” Steve asked. He never really spoke to Nicole, even when they were biology partners. She kept to herself and usually responded in monosyllables. Not mention she always looked angry, like someone stole her favorite parking spot or cut her in the lunch line.

“ _No_.” Nicole seethed. The girl did not even spare him a glance, more preoccupied with climbing her way to reach the top shelf.

Steve stepped closer when she tried step onto the second shelf, noticing the light teetering of the lower shelves. “Are you _sure_? You’ll fall if you try to go any higher.”

“Yes, I’m _sure_.” Nicole grumbled back. She reached again, only for a couple of books to tumble down.

Steve winced, reaching to pick up fallen books. He shoved the books back into place, raising his eyebrows at Nicole. “My offer still stands.”

The girl scowled, “It fine. I don’t need--”

“It’s the blue one right?” Steve asked more as a warning and conversation starter rather than seeking an answer. He reached his arm over and plucked the book easily, holding it out for Nicole. “Here you go.”

“I was fine on my own _Harrington_.” She rolled her eyes, snatching the book from him with a halfhearted, mumbled ‘ _thank you’_. Turning on her heel, she briskly walked out of the aisle, but not without a brief glance behind her.

* * *

_1986_

The chatter of the dining room did not cease for a moment once everyone sat down. Bread rolls were passed around, while cutlery scuttled against the table and plates. A yelp or two was heard from Dustin and Lucas from the right of the dining table, while Hopper’s grumble-mutters were heard from the left. These were the sounds Steve slowly began to associate with ‘home.’

The alto chuckle and wit were not.

Nicole took Eleven’s minimal talking in stride, a commendable quality Steve noted. And he would have been able to actually pay attention to their conversation if he didn’t see one of the boys making faces at him from across the table whenever Nicole turned her head away.

“Nicole, it’s so good to finally put a name to a face,” Joyce commented, turning to the young woman. “I have heard so much about you.”

“Hopefully good things,” Nicole smiled at Joyce, tucking back a curl behind her ear.

Joyce waved her off, “Of course, Hop has told me how much you help around the station, and El loves talking to you.” She reassured Nicole, Steve momentarily relieved at least someone had the decency to not act crazy at the sight of a young woman with him. Not that Nicole was with him-with him, but he brought her. “El also mentioned you and Steve know each other from high school?” So much for Joyce being relatively sane.

“You knew Nicole?” Nancy suddenly chimed in from across the table as she passed the salad to Mike. The lanky fifteen year old briefly gagged at the vegetables before he passed the bowel to Lucas.

“Of course I knew Nicole, we’ve went to elementary school together.” Steve shrugged, tossing another bread roll on to his plate harshly.

Nicole rolled her eyes, “He says that now.” She muttered lightly, Steve catching the end of her words.   

From the other end of the table, Nancy eyed him suspiciously, “Really? Because Nicole and I had Trigonometry together during my junior year. I even asked you if you knew her—”

“Jonathan, this casserole is delicious!” Steve interrupted Nancy; he quickly shoveled a forkful of the green bean soggy dish into his mouth, chewing generously. “ _So good_.” He stressed, eyeing the faces of his friends warily, silently begging them to change the subject. A part of Steve did not want Nicole to think he was still the self-centered jerk he’d been in high school. Whenever his actions from high school were brought up, it was as though he reverted to disgust before Nicole’s eyes, the woman treating him a bit more coldly than two seconds previous.

“Uh, thanks man.” Jonathan mumbled down into his plate, sharing an amused glance with his wife. Nancy shook her head, sending Steve a soft glare. She’d definitely corner him later to find out what caused him a rise—then probably report back to everyone else. Steve made a mental note to deflect and dodge whenever Nancy was within five feet.

At Steve’s abrupt eating, the rest of the table followed suit. Chatter from the boys with the occasional scolding from Hopper became the rhythm at the dinner table.

 _Thank god_.

* * *

 

“So you and Nicole?” Nancy bumped Steve’s shoulder, her tone teasing.

Avoiding Nancy’s interrogation became nearly impossible when Joyce put the two on dishwashing duty.

“I have no idea what you are talking about Mrs. Byers.” Steve scrubbed at the serving spoon, passing it to Nancy to be rinsed and dried. After their break-up and well into her relationship with Jonathan, Nancy and Steve fell into a nice comradery. Surprisingly, it had not been as awkward as Steve anticipated. Nancy was a major part of his life, even Steve could acknowledge her impact for the better. It felt almost wrong to not be invested in each other’s lives in some way.

From the other side of the kitchen, Steve heard the jumble of arguing from the kids who’d been assigned to put away the leftovers from dinner.

“Shut the fuck up, I told you she said—”

“Henderson watch that mouth.” Hopper warned in passing, placing a few more dirty dishes by the sink. “I swear these kid’s language get worse by the day.” He muttered grouchily. Turning, he bumped into the open kitchen towel drawer, mumbling ‘shit’ under his breath before caring on.

“And he wonders where they get it from?” Nancy asked, drying off a plate. Steve huffed a chuckle in agreement as he placed more dishes in the sink, letting the suds soak into the grime of the pans. “But seriously, _Nicole.”_ She placed a couple of forks on to the drying rack, “I talked about her all the time, we had two classes together and you never mentioned you knew her. Why is that?” Nancy watched him carefully, Steve keeping is eyes trained on the dying bubbles.

“I…I guess my brain never connected all these Nicoles together, or something.” Steve explained, not that there were other Nicoles at Hawkins High, or Nicole Watson Flores for that matter. He remembered in a middle school History class they’d been assigned to do a report on their family trees. Steve remembered just sticking some pictures on a board, not sure if those elderly faces in the photographs were his grandparents or some other distant relatives (the nanny didn’t know either), and making up some facts in his presentation. He didn’t get marked down, but did get the same pitiful gaze he received for most of his life from his teacher.

Nicole on the other hand, had a very detailed and _big_ family tree. Her father, Hector Flores, had a large extended family, several cousins, aunts, and uncles listed. Her mother, Kimberly Watson’s side had been small, listing grandparents and a great-aunt.

He wondered what it was like to have such a large family.

For some reason, Nicole’s bright family tree remained in Steve’s memory, even if he often momentarily forgot the linage and history belonged to her.

“Well, she’s pretty great once you get to know her. But I warn you, she can be a bit of a hard-ass.” Nancy picked up the remaining plate and dried it off. “She practically kicked me out our study group for being five minutes late—and we were the only two in the study group.”

Steve nodded, not feeling the urge to correct Nancy on his interest (or lack of) in Nicole, or how difficult the woman could be. He knew from experience; working within five feet of her was education enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a little shorter than the previous two, but it kind of had to be for transition purposes.  
> I'm going to try to update this fic at least every other week. I have a couple fics in other fandoms I am working on, and I finally figured out the direction I want to go with this fic.
> 
>  
> 
> Let me know what you think! Your favorite moments/lines, something that sparked interest, anything!  
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! I love discussing my fics with my readers :)


	4. Killing Mockingbirds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thought I wouldn't go back to this but here we are! :D
> 
> Typos will be fixed later.
> 
> Enjoy!

_1985_

“I’m positive— _only_ west coast schools.” The girl in the counselor’s office repeated for the third time.

Checking his watch, Steve huffed. His ‘appointment’ was scheduled fifteen minutes ago, yet the girl before him decided to cause more problems for herself. Part of a new urge to have soon-to-be-graduates enrolled in college or a university in the fall, the high school had taken initiative. Every senior needed to meet with a counselor at least once to discuss their plans, or convince students to apply to a local community college.

Steve made his decision, even if it meant working a lame job for a chunk of the summer. He’d apply to the police academy; simple. His meeting with the school counselor would take less than ten minutes.

Yet here he was listening to the girl explain _once again_ , she was not under any circumstances applying to a local college.

“I don’t want to live in Hawkins all my life. I _know_ I can get into Stanford. I’m just waiting on my acceptance letter.” She explained loudly, a frustrated tremor in her voice.

“Now, Ms. Flores, is this due to what happened to your—”

“It has nothing to do with anything.” She defended quickly.  “…And it's Watson; I changed it to my mother’s maiden name.” Silence lapsed for a brief moment. “I just don’t want to go to school in Indiana.”

“Okay.” The counselor sighed, defeated.

A second later, the girl stomped out of the counselor’s office in a blur of a baggy brown sweater and curls. Unable to help himself, Steve watched as she exited the schools main office and into the hall. For a tiny person, she moved quickly, as though she were on a constant mission.

“Mr. Harrington, you can come in.”

He stood up, the angry girl already gone.

* * *

_1986_

“You’re different with them.”

“Huh?” Steve turned around from pouring his cup of coffee to see Nicole peering at him quizzically. She seemed a bit taller, Steve noticing the little heels she wore with her work attire—a pressed polka-dot blue skirt and beige sweater, a far cry from her baggy clothes and ridiculous raccoon eyes of the year previous.

“Last night, at the family dinner.” Nicole remarked briskly, reaching past Steve for the coffee pot. He shifted to the side to let her get through. With a steady hand, she poured her coffee into her obnoxious green mug. Not a drop was spilled, unlike Steve who still needed to clean the mess he made with the sugar. “I think you might have smiled, or maybe it was a trick of the light.”

Once dinner was cleaned up, the carpool began. All the shitheads decides to squeeze into Steve’s car, leaving Nicole to hitch a ride with Nancy and Jonathan. The couple did not mind, Nancy taking it as an opportunity to catch up with Nicole. Though Steve was sure she had other motives.

“I smile.” Steve said as he leaned on the wall next to the kitchenette. He tried his best to appear casual, but gave up halfway through, knowing Nicole would see right through him. She did not take care for his ‘cool persona’ as she liked to phrase it.

Nicole raised an eyebrow. “No. You _smirk._ There is a difference Harrington.” She contemplate for a moment before shrugging. “But you’re different…I haven’t decided if it’s a good different, or a strange different.”

“Thank you…?” He trailed off, not sure how to take Nicole’s slightly cryptic response. Shoving his free hand in his pocket, Steve tried to focus on the bridge of her nose rather than make real eye contact as he thought of how to phrase his next words. “They liked you, even asked if you could come back for the next family dinner.”

“Oh,” She blinked owlishly, as though surprised anyone would invite her or want her presense again. Uncharacteristic bashfulness flickered in her as Nicole adjusted her glasses higher on her nose. “That’s… _nice_.”

On that note, she marches back to her desk, Steve not entirely sure what transpired between them.

* * *

 

“The boys told me this book is boring.” El sighed, opening her copy of _To Kill a Mockingbird_.

“Then they’re stupid.” Nicole immediately declares without looking up from the forms she was filing. “It is a classic. One of my favorites.”

El perks up at this. “Really?”

“Of course.” Nicole nodded once. “I think you’ll really like it.”

The office was busy enough, though mostly pushing papers. The easy life when there weren’t demogorgans or the Upside Down. After his and Nicole’s brief morning chat, they had not spoken to each other until El came ambling into the office.

Her last assigned book was not a hit among her friends, but Nicole seemed to make it her mission to cheer up El.

“It is about a girl and her brother and about growing up,” Nicole explained vaguely, enough to gain the younger girl’s interest. “And their dad is a lawyer and a very kind man,” she continued, her lips quirking fondly as she recalled the story. Scribbling a note with her cursive penmanship, Nicole smiled softly at El, “I remember I read the book for the first time around your age.”

“Really?”

“Yup,” she nodded, before her eyes trailed to Steve, “I’m pretty sure Steve had to read it too.”

“Don’t remember reading it,” Steve declared with shrug, trying to focus on the paperwork.

The Roberts were claiming their animals were going missing—not exactly the police departments expertise, but a tight coil in Steve’s gut told him to mark it. Afterall, it would not be the first time in the last couple weeks animals on the farms further out, or domestic pets had gone missing in the last few weeks.

“You did a presentation on it,” Nicole reminded him, turning to face him rather than El’s curious intense gaze.

“Just because you do a presentation on something does not mean you actually know it,” Steven remarked, unable to hamper down his smugness. “Cliffnotes, Nicole. I bought Cliffnotes.”

She rolled her eyes, “Yes because reading someone else’s biased summary will help you achieve the grade you desire.”

“It did, especially since the notes’ points were right,” he answered casually, setting the Roberts report with the other two he marked.

Nicole whipped her head to El, “Don’t be like him—it’s a really good book,” her dark eyes then lit up, Steven finding himself once drawn into watching their exchange. “How about this; since I love it so much, and Steve _clearly_ never read it,” she hissed sharply at him, as though offended for Harper Lee herself, “we all read it together so you have people you know to discuss it with?”

“I like it!”

“No.”

El shot Steve a mild glare at his moan of disagreement. “Yes,” she ordered, her jaw twitching.

Oh, he knew that look. Everyone had been subjected—well, except for Nicole, who they’d agreed to keep in the dark about El’s…abilities—to the frightening gaze of Jane ‘El’ Hopper.

Sitting up, Steven leaned over to El. She wanted to go all teen science experiment on him, then he was prepared.

“I said ‘no,’ El. You and Nicole can have your little book club, but I have paperwork to do and manning calls—”

“You do nothing half the time,” Nicole interrupted with a scoff, earning a beaming grin from El. No, no, no. They were tag-teaming damn it. “The government is literally paying you to sit and wait for the phone to ring and then write about how Sofie Carmichael lost her pet bunny.”

Steve perked up, “ _Did_ Sofie Carmichael loose her pet bunny?”

Nicole squinted at him, pushing her glasses higher on her nose, “Yes, but it isn’t that something for the animal shelter to—”

“Can you give me the file?” Steve interrupted, flipping open the folder he’d been saving all the recent _missing_ pet and animal reports. Call him paranoid, but if he can make a difference of noticing when the things started to go sideways in Hawkins, then so be it.

Not entirely pleased by the straight forward command, Nicole followed through. She dug through her stacks of reports, some old and needed refiling while a small selection were recent. She plucked one and handed it over to Steve, her dark eyes sharpening on him.

She was undeniably suspicious, and unfortunately, she’d have to remain that way.

No one else was supposed to know about the Upside Down. Everything was on a need to know basis.

With a nod, Steve took the file, hearing El hop of her seat to stand beside him as he spread out the files on his desk.

The only thing the files had in common was pets going missing accidentally at night in the past week. Some mentioned flickering lights, others were vague, the owner calling while distraught.

“I don’t think it’s anything,” El muttered after a moment, “I think it might be another—”

Dud. Spike of paranoia. Something his brain decided to conjure up.

“I know,” Steve agreed with an embarrassed nod. El patted his shoulder awkwardly, trying her best to show comfort before sitting back down.

Swiftly, he collected the files together and stuffed them in the folder. He shoved the folder into a drawer, planning on filing them away later, when his brain wasn’t trying to figure out a way to cope with trauma.

He really needed to stop seeing things that weren’t there, or making more trouble than necessary. It wasn’t good for the kid, it wasn’t good for Hopper, and it wasn’t good for him.

Looking up, Steve caught Nicole watching him.

He quickly looked away, tapping his pen on the desk to an idle beat. There was nothing to keep him busy, there weren’t any phone calls to man; he was once again trapped at the desk with his own thoughts.

“But can we do the book club?” El spoke up after a moment, capturing both Steve and Nicole’s attention.

“Absolutely,” Nicole agreed, “Steve doesn’t have to do it if he doesn’t want to—”

“I’ll do it,” he winced out, knowing how much it would make El happy if he did, “Like you said Nicole, the government is literally paying me to sit and wait for the phone to ring in a boring, middle of nowhere town,” he grumbled dejectedly. He tossed the pen up and down, catching it every single time. “Reading about killing mockingbirds will not hurt me.”

“You do know it is not actually about ‘killing mockingbirds’ right?” Nicole asked, her face scrounging in pain at the summary.

No—no, he did not know that.

“Yeah,” Steve huffed off a laugh, “Yeah, I _know_. It’s a joke Nicole. Ever heard one of those?”

She frowned at him, “Sure, Steve. _Sure_.”

* * *

 

“Goddamn it!”

Steve stopped mid-walk to his car at the cry of frustration.

Turning to his left, he found Nicole huffing and puffing over her engine.

And then violently kick the car with as much ferocity as she possessed in her tiny body. She hobbled and hissed, before turning back to the engine with just as fervor, as though looking at it again would solve her problem.

Feeling pity for her, Steve changed his route.

“Do you need help?”

“No,” she gritted, rubbing her hands together to get some warmth in her body, “I got it.”

Peering over her, Steve saw all the wires were in a tangle, some completely _pulled_ …some that couldn’t be pulled with mere, average strength.

“I just don’t _understand_ , it was working perfectly fine this morning, and I’ve never had problems with the engine,” Nicole grumbles, her hands hovering over the mess of her engine, inwardly debating whether or not to touch anything. “And if someone were to do this, why the hell didn’t they just take the battery?”

“Maybe because they didn’t know cars have batteries,” Steve muttered as his eyes skimmed over the dirty work.

 _El’s_ dirty work.

“What?” Nicole turned to him, befuddled by the statement. “What do you mean—”

“Nicole, this won’t be able to get you home, and it’s take too long to fix tonight,” Steve concluded, barely understanding the tangle…however he understood, a little too well, El’s agenda. And he had to fall right into her trap because he was—or well, tried to be—a gentleman. “I can give you a ride home if you want?”

Pinching her lips together, Nicole nodded, slamming the hood of her car roughly.

“Fine, lead the way Harrington,” she waved to him.

Steve smirked a bit at her scowl, “Wow, back to Harrington. Have I been demoted?”

“Everyone has been demoted in light of events,” Nicole explained, making her way to Steve’s passenger seat the second night in a row. She kicked some rubble on her trek, appearing more childish and like the boys the more she mumbled.

Once inside, he unlocked the car, Nicole sliding in and dropping her purse by her feet. Starting the car, Steve drove out of the stations parking lot, the two sitting in silence… until Steve realized he didn’t know where Nicole lived.

“Right off of Cherry, like three houses down from the Henderson’s,” she explained, sensing the confusion on his face. Falling back against the seat, she fiddled with the radio until she landed on Tears for Fears, _Everybody Wants to Rule the World_.

Carelessly she hummed along, Steve feeling her sneaking glances at him.

“You’re more of a Wham! guy huh?” Nicole observed, wrongly so, once she noticed him not humming along to the drone and techno strums.

“No,” Steve answered, “I like Billy Ocean—and—and Phil Collins,” he defended, not really use to people making assumptions on his musical tastes. Or even asking him of his musical tastes.

“I approve of those,” she nodded.

“I wasn’t searching for your approval,” Steven shot back, his hands regripping the steering wheel.

Nicole smiled slightly, “I know, but you got it. You should take it,” she ended with a shrug, dropping her fidgeting hands on her lap.

She glanced at him again, her dark eyes examining him. Steve tried not to shift too much under her gaze, his focus on the road as he turned on to her street.

Growing tired of his skin crawling, he spoke up, “What? What is it? Do I have something on my face?”

“No,” Nicole said back, arms crossed over her chest defensively, “I was just looking at you—I can look at you, there is no one else to look at in this car.”

“But, it’s a _car_ you can look out the window,” he said, a grin fighting its way on his face. “Seriously, what’s up?”

“Why do you save files?” She blurted out, Steve nearly stomping on the breaks at the question.

He didn’t answer, swallowing as his eyes narrowed on the road.

Taking his lack of response in stride, she continued, “I always noticed it, but I don’t know today—it just really _stuck_ _out_ today.”

“I’m doing my job,” Steve said hastily, rolling to stop at her apparent house.

“No,” Nicole argued, “Your job is to take calls, write reports, and go on the occasional outing if the Chief so desires,”  she sat up further, shutting the radio off. She turned to him, Steve unable too look away from her all knowing eyes, “There is something weird going on here, and I know for a fact you know what it is.”

He swallowed tightly, before looking away from her. She was right, absolutely right, but there was nothing he could tell her without Hopper breathing down his neck.

And she didn’t need to know, because the moment you knew, life wasn’t normal anymore. Nothing was normal anymore, and you end up trying to find instances where the demo- _whatevers_ and _mindlflayers_ could show up—it was ridiculous.

He felt ridiculous.

And he felt even more ridiculous because he was close to telling her, because Nicole wasn’t all that bad. They were acquaintances that were somehow becoming work friends. She was smart, smarter than the police department gave her credit, and maybe she could—

“We’re here,” Steve decided to say after Nicole pinned him with her gaze. He made up his mind; he was going to tell El to stop this little pushing and shoving she’d been doing the last few days, and maybe he and Nicole could be friends and _nothing_ more.

“Oh,” she uttered, sinking back down.

“And there is nothing to tell, except I’m bored and needed something to do,” he said mechanically, knowing Nicole was seeing right through him. “That’s why I save files.”

“You’re lying to me,” she declared, however anger was not in her tone. She sounded… _sad_ …sad for _him_. Picking up her purse, she slung it over her shoulder, “Steve, you’re not _awful_ —you’re actually a good guy. Really you _are_ , I just—” she huffed, edging open the car door, “It just kind of sucks to see you like this; sad and depressed. I mean I always knew you kind of were because, well _whatever_ ,” she shook her head, tucking her curls behind her ears, “I know we’re not friends, but whatever is bothering you, I can listen.”

A moment of silence passed between them.

“I’m _fine_ ,” he said plainly.

Her face twisted angrily, “ _Fine_ then. Thanks for the ride, bye.”

She climbed out of the car, shutting the door loudly behind her. He tried not to wince.

Steve waited until she was in her house, before driving off.

He didn’t understand why it hurt to not tell her.


End file.
